Suspension of road wheels of vehicles



March 10, 1936. N. STRAUSSLER SUSPENSION OF ROAD WHEELS OF VEHICLES Filed Aug. 31, 1935 RR may N 5 w iww T 6 5 A L 0 H m M Patents um. 1936 33,493

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SUSPENSION F ROAD WHEELS OF VEHICLES Nicholas Straussler, London, England, assignor to Straussler Mechanization Limited, London, England, a British company Application August 31, 1935, Serial No. 38,723 In Great Britain January 25, 1934 4 Claims. (01. 280-424) This invention relates to the suspension of tubes B, and thus acts as a torsional spring, to road wheels of vehicles, of the kind in which each which the load acting on the road wheels is transwheel is carried on a cranked arm and driven by ferred through the arm D. It will be seen that gearing instead of from axles. the spring base is much longer than the wheel 5 The suspension means employed are of the type base. 5

in which torsion bars or shafts extending hori- In the arrangement shown in Figure 3 the torzontally at right angles to the plane of move sion shaft E extends laterally beyond the wheel ment of the wheels serve for springing the vehi C, and is connected with the annular part (1 of cle, that is, for resisting the transmission to the the lever D by a tube G of resilient material, vehicle of shocks, vibrations, or oscillations set which gives an additional spring effect. The two 10 up by contact of the wheels with the road. torsion rods E of a pair of wheels may extend According to the invention each wheel is carnearly to t full length f th be B d be a1- rled on asingle cranked arm which has aseparate ranged one above another as seen in Figure 2; arc of movement on one bearing, and is controlled or each torsion rod may be housed in a separate by a torsion spring extending substantially the tube B, as seen in Figure 4, in which case one of 15 whole width of the vehicle chassis, or even bethe arms D may be forwardly and the other rearyond the-wheel base transversely, and anchored w r y directed to Position a p ir of W e hub at its end remote from the wheel, the two parallel opposite each other.

springs either being housed one above the other What I claim and desire to secure by Letters in a single tube, or housed in separate tubes Patent of the United States is:-- 20 alongside each other, in which latter case the 1. Susp ea or road ve ic es comcranked arms of a pair of wheels are oppositely prising a pair of longitudinal frame members latdirected. erally spaced from each other, a plurality of tubes In order that the said invention may be clearof a length greater than the distance between said ly understood and readily carried into effect, longitudinal members attached transversely and 5 the same will now be described more fully with in spaced relation to said longitudinal members, reference to the accompanying drawing or diathe surface of one outer end of each of said tubes grams illustrating several examples of the pracbeing a bearing, a plurality of Crank levers each tical application of the invention. having a solid end adapted to act as a spindle and Figure 1 represents in plan the chassis of a having a hollow end, a wheel rotatably mounted 30 vehicle embodying the invention. upon each of said spindles, the hollow end of said Figure 2 is a sectional elevation showing the levers being mounted for oscillatory movement arrangement of the vertically spaced parallel toron said bearing end of said tubes, one tortionally sion shafts. resilient member having a portion within each of Figure 3 represents in plan a wheel with the said tubes and having one end rigidly attached 35 torsion shaft extending laterally beyond the to the hollow end of said levers, said tortionally wheel base. resilient member being at least as long as said Figure 4 represents a plan of a chassis having hollow member. parallel tubes and a modified arrangement of 2- suspen ion means for road vehicles as cranked arms carrying the wheels. claimed in claim 1, said tortionally resilient mem- In the drawing, A indicates the longitudinal ber consisting of a tortionally resilient bar havframe members or the chassis, which may be of ing an end extending beyond the outer end of said tubular, channel, or any other suitable section. hollow member, a tortionally resilient tube about B indicates a series of cross tubes which may be said outer end of said bar and having a closed end either above or below the longitudinal members and an open end, the outer end of said bar and A, and C the vehicle wheels. Each wheel is supthe closed end of said resilient tube being rigidly ported on a single cranked arm D pivotally supattached to each other and the open end of said ported on one of the tubes 13, the axis of the pivot resilient tube being rigidly attached to said lever. being transverse in relation to the longitudinal Suspension means for ad veh cles comaxis of the vehicle and the parts of the arms D. prising a p of n di l frame members latadjacent the pivots being approximately paralerally spaced from each other, hollow members lel to this longitudinal axis. Each arm D is rigattached transversely across the ends of said idly secured to a resilient rod E or E which at spaced frame members, each of said hollow memits end remote from the arm D is splined or otherbers comp g tWO tubes rigidly attached one wise rigidly secured at F or F to one of the above the other in staggered relation and with 55 the inner spaces in communication, whereby an outer end of each tube projects beyond the inner end of the tube to which it is attached and beyond said frame members, said projecting ends being bearings, a plurality of crank levers each having a solid end adapted to act as a spindle and having a hollow end, a wheel rotatably mounted upon each of said spindles, the hollow end of each of said levers being mounted for oscillatory movement on the projecting ends 01' said tubes, a tortionally resilient bar in each of said tubes having an inner end rigidly attached to the inner end of the tube and having the outer end rigidly attached within the hollow end of said levers.

4. Suspension means for road vehicles comprising a pair of longitudinal frame members laterally spaced from each other, at least four hollow members of a length greater than the distance between said longitudinal members having 5 an open end and a closed end and arranged in pairs and attached transversely to said longitudinal members, the outer surface of alternate ends of the hollow members being bearings, at least i'our crank levers each having a solid end adapted to act as a spindle and each having a hollow end, a wheel rotatably mounted upon each of said spindles, the hollow ends of said levers being mounted upon the bearing ends of said hollow members in staggered relation, the levers on each pair of hollow members extending in opposite directions whereby the spindles of each pair lie in substantially the same transverse plane, a tortionally resilient bar in each of said hollow members having an end rigidly attached to the closed end of said tubes and having a second end rigidly attached within the hollow end of said levers.

NICHOLAS STRAUSSLER. 

